After Strike, CWA Members at Desert Sun Reach First Contract Agreement

NewsGuild-CWA Members at Desert Sun Reach First Contract Agreement

NewsGuild-CWA journalists at the Gannett-owned Desert Sun, the Coachella Valley’s daily newspaper, have reached an agreement for a first contract. The tentative agreement comes two days after the workers, members of the Media Guild of the West (TNG-CWA Local 39213) launched a ULP strike over the company’s refusal to offer consistent raises that reflect the skyrocketing cost of living in the valley, as well as its unwillingness to offer any protections against exorbitant health care cost hikes.

“WE WON!!!! After 3 years of bargaining, walkouts, rallies, and two strikes, the Desert Sun Guild has its first contract with the Desert Sun!” said Janet Wilson, an environmental reporter at the Desert Sun. “Thank you to our fearless bargaining team and all our supporters. You gave us the fiscal ability and gumption to get this done.”

As a result of the strike, members won immediate, life-changing raises, annual raises for every member, and crucial workplace protections. The contract would also raise the standard for contracts across Gannett, where the NewsGuild-CWA represents about 1,400 workers across 50 bargaining units.

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Canadian Media Guild-CWA Reaches Tentative Agreement with CBC/Radio Canada

With more than 4,400 members representing production, administrative, technical, and trades positions, the Canadian Media Guild-CWA (CWA Canada Local 30213) has reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This agreement comes in the wake of the company’s announcement last year that it would be laying off approximately ten percent of its staff.

The bargaining team focused on pay increases, more job security, and mitigating the proposed staffing cuts. During the seven-week negotiation, members and supporters wore green, shared green-colored baked goods, and amplified the bargaining team’s message online. The bargaining team is in the process of setting up ratification meetings where members will have the opportunity to learn more about the details of the agreement and vote.

The Canadian Media Guild-CWA bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

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CWA Local 1037 Turns Out for a Fair Contract

It’s been 25 months since CWA 1037 members at Passaic County Board of Social Services (PCBSS) had a contract—the longest they’ve ever gone without one. The contract expired in December 2021, and workers have been mobilizing to get a new one.

On February 27, members rallied outside the Passaic County Commissioners Meeting. Though CWA doesn’t negotiate directly with the commissioners, there are two who are on the Passaic County Board of Social Services. Workers are determined to keep using their collective power to settle a fair contract, and more actions will follow.

On February 22, CWA Local 1037 members picketed Chairwoman Carol Cuadrado, who sits on the PCBSS Board and bargains with the local. Members rallied in Paterson, N.J. while she and the rest of the board held a virtual meeting. The board has refused to meet in person with CWA members to continue the bargaining process. Members joined the virtual meeting, and Wanda Sawyer, Vice President of PCBSS and CWA 1037 Executive Board Member, spoke on-camera, saying, “Chairwoman Cuadrado, hear us today. If this Board fails to meet in person, we will come to you! The Board will not ignore us! Fair Contract Now!”

Follow CWA Local 1037 on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) @cwa1037.

Members of CWA Local 1037 rallied outside the Passaic County Commissioners Meeting continuing their 25-month fight for a contract.

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Unanimous Strike Authorization Vote for AFA-CWA Flight Attendants at Omni Air

AFA-CWA Flight Attendants at Omni Air International voted 100 percent to authorize an historic strike, with 91 percent participating.

Flight Attendants at Omni have been in contract negotiations for a year and a half, overseen by the National Mediation Board. Following proposals from management offering inadequate pay increases, unacceptable duty lengths, and inadequate rest, negotiations stalled. Omni Flight Attendants took the contract fight public on February 13 during a global day of action in solidarity with Flight Attendants across the industry fighting for new contracts at American, Alaska, United, and more.

“We face a relentless combination of disrespect, health concerns, schedule instability, excruciatingly long duty hours, inadequate crew rest, and poverty-level wages,” said Patricia Huber, AFA Omni President. “The current state of affairs at Omni is unsustainable. We’re fighting to change that.”

Now that a strike has been authorized, the union can request a release from the National Mediation Board, leading to a 30-day “cooling off” period and strike deadline.

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CWA Local 13000 Firefighters Secure Contract Extension

CWA Local 13000 firefighters, serving both Newtown Township and Newtown Borough, secured a three-year contract extension. Under the new contract, firefighters will adopt a seven-day, 12-hour shift schedule. Additionally, existing firefighters are set to receive a three percent pay increase above their 2024 salaries, and two lieutenant positions will be created. The addition of the new personnel increases the department’s full-time, career firefighting team to 12 members. The firefighters work closely with local volunteer firefighters.

In an historic first, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. met with the Democratic Governors’ Association last month, addressing approximately twenty sitting governors at once. President Cummings spoke passionately about the need for greater worker protections, highlighting federal call center workers at Maximus who are fighting for better pay and scheduling and to join CWA.

President Cummings urged those in attendance to protect the rights and safety of call center workers, many of whom work under contracts with state governments, and reminded them of the CWA’s long history of supporting pro-worker governors.

The Biden Administration’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has helped millions of low-income families afford internet access, which is critical for everything from healthcare services to paying bills and completing schoolwork.

Congress has not extended funding for the program, so it is no longer taking new applications and is set to expire in April. Job-creating broadband infrastructure projects could be curtailed if fewer customers are able to afford service through the ACP. Fighting to defend the ACP, Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) hosted a roundtable discussion in East St. Louis last week with members of the business community, local educators, and state leaders. CWA Local 4217 President Travis Young represented CWA members and spoke passionately about the need to extend the ACP.

“We discussed the need for student and family access. Most families living in this area can’t afford to add internet to their budget; they’re living paycheck to paycheck. We saw during the pandemic that the internet is a critical utility and should be available to everyone. CWA plays a role in distributing internet services, but we live here too, and we need the ACP as much as anyone else.”

Hundreds of union members, including CWA members, rallied last week on the Washington State Capitol steps to show support for legislation that, if passed, would allow striking workers to access unemployment insurance benefits, a move that would help defend striking union members from financial coercion. House Bill 1893 has been approved by the Washington House of Representatives and is now under consideration in the state Senate.

AFA-CWA Local 27019 President Paula Isla-McGill attended the rally and spoke to reporters about the 3,000 Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants who have been working without a contract for ten years. “A lot has happened since 2014,” she said. “We’ve gone through a pandemic, we’ve gone through a merger, and we’ve had contentious contract negotiations over the past year. A couple weeks ago, over 99 percent [of our members] voted to authorize a strike. It’s the first time we’ve taken such a drastic step in over 30 years. That’s because management refuses to bargain in good faith. Access to economic support [during a strike] doesn’t just even the playing field; it is essential to the survival of workers.”

Another bill being watched closely by union activists bans captive audience and other mandatory work meetings to pressure employees against forming a union. It will allow workers who are organizing their union to refuse to attend anti-union meetings without fear of being disciplined or fired. SB 5778 has passed the state Senate and is now moving to the House for consideration.

CWA members and union allies rallied at the Washington State Capitol to support proposed legislation that would allow striking union members to access unemployment benefits.

On February 22, CWA members rallied in both New York and New Jersey to demand that their members of Congress stand with working families instead of voting for disastrous cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits.

“These cuts are even deeper for a worker that retires at 65,” said CWA Local 1103 LPAT member Caroline Dimezza, who spoke at a rally in Westchester, N.Y. “Today that worker receives 86.7 percent if retiring at 65. With the proposed Republican cuts, it’s reduced to 75 percent of the full benefit—an additional 11.7 percent cut to what most Americans believe should be the actual right time to retire. And even if you elect to push on for the additional 4 years to reach the Republican Full Retirement age of 69, your benefits are still cut by 13 percent. So workers who need to reach the additional two years would wait longer for less benefits.”

CWAers rallied to put members of Congress on notice that they will be held accountable to their constituents.

Virginia is a “right-to-work” (for less) state with a long history of anti-worker legislation. The statute banning collective bargaining has been in place since 1947, a reaction to Black nurses, janitors, and orderlies at University of Virginia Hospital forming a union in 1946. Now, a new Democratic legislative majority is moving to restore collective bargaining rights in a state where, according to a Christopher Newport University poll, 68 percent of Virginians strongly support allowing public sector employees to form a union and bargain collectively.

Jenna Gabriel, a member of United Campus Workers of Virginia-CWA (UCW-CWA Local 2265) and former UCW-CWA chair at Virginia Commonwealth University, spoke about the tremendous impact such legislation would have on her and her university colleagues.

“Collective bargaining would be life-changing for my co-workers,” Gabriel said. “Having a voice on the job would allow us to negotiate for the issues we care about. Less tenuous contracts, safe spaces to live and work, class sizes that allow us to support our students, paid time off to care for our families, health insurance, child care, fair wages—the list goes on.”

Last weekend, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. (right) and his wife Dr. Ruth Cummings (center) received the Passion of the Flame award honoring their contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. The award was presented during the Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma, Ala., which commemorates Bloody Sunday, when law enforcement attacked hundreds of voting rights marchers as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. Rev. Mark Thompson (left) spoke at the event.